
SCENES IN THE GREAT WHEAT BELT OF KANSAS 



Scenes in the Great Wheat Belt of Kansas 



Descriptive and Illustrative of that part of Northwestern Kansas Extending Along 
the Main Line of the Union Pacific Railroad West from Saiina, 

Embracing the Counties of Saline, Ellsworth, Russell, Ellis, Trego, Gove and 
Wallace, 

Is Published as a Book of Information for Homeseekers and Investors. 

Any Specific Information Desired Regarding Lands, Locations, Investments and 
Business Opportunities, Special Railroad Rates and Dates of Excursions, will be 
Furnished Upon Request, by 

ROBERT S. LEMON 

Immigration Agent, Union Pacific Railroad Company 
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI 

IHE BOOK BY MORELAND BROWN. ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPHS BY WM. FIELD, JR. 






LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
Two Copies Received 

NOV 24 1905 

Cooyright Entry 
€USS •^j'xxc. Na 



Scenes in the Great Wheat Belt of Kansas 



SOME STATES write their story to keep their people at home. An indefinable unrest pervades the closely settled farm- 
ing districts. A general dissatisfaction arising from the stress of making a living under discouraging conditions. 
Land rents are high. The land is old and long used, and fails to bring good returns. When a year's labor brings 
insufficient money to pay the rent, it is small wonder the renter feels that his burden is heavy. Land prices are high, 
too high in comparison with values in the less settled states. So high that the renter can never expect to own, or the 
small owner to increase his holdings. The wealthy owners are satisfied. But there is a general desire on the part of 
the renters or small owners to give themselves a ciiance under more promising conditions, to stop butting- their heads 
against the stone wall, to leave the closely settled farming districts and go where the strain of making a living is easier, 
and where in a few years they themselves can be large owners and have money in the bank. To counteract this feeling 
of dissatisfaction, the state will write its story and tell its achievements. It says to its discontented people, with the county 
seat lawyer at the Fourth of July picnic, "Stick to your state," "Stick to your county." 

This book on Kansas is not written to keep Kansas people at home. Kansas doesn't lose hers. This book does not 
teach "Stick to your state," but is a gladsome self praise of the state of Kansas, and these few counties in the Great Wheat 
Kelt. It teaches a glorious gospel of success crowning efforts under the most auspicious circumstances with which Prov- 
idence could surround a man, or he, through wise discernment, choose for himself. A man may prefer to be poor and 
unfortunate living in sight of the old homestead which some other man owns. Kansas ofifers in its stead a sentiment of 
crops and cattle, from land not too high for him to buy. Two sons raised on a farm means ownership for but one an 1 
the father retired at the wise time of life, or it means the two sons must together come to Kansas to get a home under 
the easy conditions which allowed to their father's life such success. 



The writer of this book knows that no man should move but to better himself. That a home is a matter of a life 
time, and upon having a good home depends the comfort of hi? family, and the future welfare of his children. He knows 
this book will be of vital interest to every renter, and to every holder whose yearly profit is necessarily small. He has 
therefore not been satisfied with hearsay, though there are many people ready to speak a glowing word for farming in 
Kansas. He has been over the country, stopping at all the towns, and interviewing the most reliable people and the fore- 
most farmers. He has yoked his enthusiasm for the country resulting- from this ])crs nal nl)scrvation with Secretary 
Coburn's reports and statistics. Let the book be as lionest with the country as it wonlil he with llie readers. 

The Wealth of Kansas 

Kansas is favorably situated beyond any state in the Union. There are states with some soil more fertile than the 
most of Kansas. States with cooler summers and warmer winters, which attract the pleasure seeker. States that have 
within their confines many historic and honored places. But no state so uniformly gives to its workers such gratifying 
proceeds from the three great agricu'tural mines— wheat, corn and cattle— with all the feeds and grasses which grow here 
in their lu.xuriance and succulence— as does Kansas to the people who, in daily duty well performed, unite to make her great. 
Kansas is the great zvhcat state. Yet corn in Kansas grows dollar for dollar with the wheat. In 1903, when Kansas' banner 
wheat crop gave the people of the state $52,426,354, corn put in her other hand $57,078,141. .\nd the same year her live 
stock products put into the bank for her $69,865,096. The total value of all her farm products was $223,984,498. 

This vast yearly income does not impoverish the land, nor sap the energy and life of her people. Each year finds 
the acreage in cultivation greatly increased, the soil, through judicious cultivation, more productive, the people, with weaUh 
accumulated, assured by former successes, each year expecting to set a new record of income for themselves and their 
state. 

The people of Kansas are the choicest settlers from the older states. People of ambition and ptu-posc, with minds 
broad and unconfined, like her vast wheat land, resourceful and prosperous. The farmers of Kansas are uniformly 
well to do, and a mortgage in Kansas is a memory. 



The school system of Kansas is as fine as any in the country. Her colleges rank with the best, excepting only those 
old institutions of the East. There is not a state institution surpassing the State University, and there are denominational 
schools in Kansas ranking equal to her state school. 

Land Description and Soil 

The land in Kansas lays right for farming. The counties especially described in this book, Saline, Ellsworth, Rus- 
sell, Ellis, Trego, Gove and Wallace, extending from east to west to the Colorado line, are a part of what is called the 
great Plateau of Northwestern Kansas. Land as "level as a floor," and gently rolling gives ideal fields for wheat growing. 
Every acre of it is God's rich ground, and with a minimum of effort returns to its fortunate owner a maximum of grain. 
Fortunately for these counties two rivers flow through them — the Saline in the northern part of the counties, and the 
Smoky Hill in the southern, and uniting in Saline county near Salina, form the Kansas or Kaw river, the principal one of 
Kansas. These rivers with the numerous creeks, spring fed, afford fine drainage and at the same time are made use 
of for moisture for crops. As the upland is the finest wheat land in the country, these creek and river bottoms are un- 
surpassed for corn, kafir corn and alfalfa, and are mostly used for these three great crops. The knobs extending along 
the two rivers produce the finest of native grasses and give the income from the cattle. 

Kansas is Rich From the Ground Up 

The soils of the area are very uniform in occurrence. On the upland or wheat land the surface soil is a dark l)rown 
to black silty loam, to a depth of about twelve inches. The subsoil, from twelve to about thirty-six inches is a heavy silty 
loam, a little lighter in color and having a slight clay content, but retaining its silty nature. This soil i'^ very rich, 
containing a large percentage of organic matter, and produces the finest of Kansas red wheat. 

The creek and river bottom land is a silty loam, grayish brown to dark brown in color, with a subsoil of about the 
same nature, containing a little less organic matter than the surface soil. This soil is alluvial, being formed from the deposit 
of the river, and is well adapted for all general agriculture. The land is comparatively level. The broad, flat areas are 
well drained by the creeks. In the same way these areas are adapted for irrigation, the porosity of the soil allowing a seep- 
age of water from the creeks. 




Panoramic View, Tut S.mukv Hill Kiveu un the South 




THE Distance 




Saline River near Rt 



In the rolling land and knobs along the river banks the surface soil is a loam, lighter in color than the upland soil. 

The subsoil is mostly a decomposition of limestone and shale. This is used almost entirely for pasture. On the more 
level slopes kafir corn and sorghum have been successfully grown. But it is especially adapted for stock raising, as the drains 
afford protection during the winter, and the grass gives pasturage during the greater part of the year. 

The Climate 

The climate in Northwestern Kansas is changing. There has nearly always been sufficient moisture for all the 
crops raised there, as the rc])orts of the State Department of Agriculture will show. Yet as the country becomes more 
widely and better cultivated the soil not c nly can produce better on less moisture, but the amount of rainfall is increased 
by the change in cultivation. Many explanaticns are given of this change. Sufficient to say there is a decided climatic 
change going on in Kansas. The average rainfall is from 25 inches to 20.5 inches farther west. The reports this year 
are very much greater than the average, some localities reporting for the year round 27.88 inches and more. 

The Nights are Cool 

The temperature of Northwestern Kansas is the same as the states in the same latitude — no difference, excepting that 
in Northwestern Kansas the altitude is better than most states enjoy. It is nearly always cool in the shade, for there is 
a breeze during the day, which increasing towards dusk gives to the sleeper a perfect night for rest. No Northwest 
Kansas farmer tosses on his bed trying in vain to get a cool breath of air which will allow him sleep. The air is nearly as 
pure, fresh and invigorating as mountain air. The morning finds him rested. There is not that feeling of sleepiness 
which so many people in the lower altitude have on awakening. His first hour in the morning is as good as his last, and 
the last as good as any between. People fail to tire, the air is so good. It is the perfect health and untiring strength of 
the people as much as the fertility of soil that gives Kansas her position among the states. 

Kansas Wheat 

I^ave \ou ever eaten bread fn m flour milled from Kansas wheat? It is distinctive, and you will notice it. No state 
in the Union raises a wheat equal to the famous hard red wheat of Kansas, known as Turkey. The world does not produce 




A Busy Time in a Kansas Wheat Field 



a wheat surpassing it. It is rich in gluten, the tissue building part of the grain; it contains three to four per cent less 
water than the soft wheat. It leads in nutritive va'ue, flavor and digestibility. Foreign bakers mix it with their defi- 
cient wheat to supply the gluten. It is the maker of the world's white loaf bread. 

No state in the Union raises so much wheat as Kansas. The Turkey wheat was brought by settlers from Russia 
and Crimea. The soil of Kansas, rich in natural qualities, is particularly adapted to its growth. She made a record in 
1892 of 74,538,906 bushels. In 1901 set a new record of 90,333,095. In 1903 she yielded 94,041,902 bushels with a value 
of $52,426,354. In 1904 Kansas had 65.141,629 bushels against 31,000,000 bushels for Nebraska, 27,000,000 bushels for 
Missouri, and 21,000,000 bushels for Illinois, the states coming nearest her. In 1905, 75,576,867 bushels. Saline county, 
in the center of the Great Wheat Belt, reports this year 1,851,376 bushels at seventeen bushels per acre. Ellsworth 
county, 1,587,118 at fourteen bushels per acre. Russell, 1,448,810 bushels. Ellis, 1,086,486. Trego, 1,043,985 at fifteen 
bushels per acre. Gove 555,615 at fourteen bushels per acre. Wallace 5,760 at fifteen bushels per acre. In 1903 Gove 
reported an average yield of twenty-six bushels, the highest of any county in the state, the next highest being twenty- 
five, twenty-four and twenty-two. 

Wheat is a surer crop in Kansas than it is in other states. It is subject to weather hardships just the same, but in 
a less degree. There have been short crops and partial failure crops, but the greater number of years since the reports 
have been saved have seen an average }ield of more than fifteen bushels for the entire state, although not one-third of the 
counties are in what is called "The Great Wheat Belt." The soil and the climate are especially suited for wheat's best growth. 

Large Profits 

Profit comes to the Northwestern Karsns farmer with a minimum amount of labor. They are very careful to sow 
the best seed obtainable. But the vast acreage each one owns leads them to take a profit by easy methods of cultivation, 
rather than get the full yield out of their soil by the more extensive cultivation, which is so necessary to get a per cent of 
profit in the higher priced lands. Plow'ng is done every second, every third, and by some people, every fourth year, four 
to six inches deep, and as soon as poss'ble after the crop is harvested. The year in which plowing is not done, the wheat 
is drilled into the stubble ground without previous preparation, or the disk harrow is used. The average of many esti- 
mates of cost per acre as reported by many of the most substantial wheat growers of the section is as follows : 



Wheat (a) cut with a Header and Stacker 



(I)) With Binder and Shocked 



Plowing (even' other year) $ .50 

Harrowing ( 15c to 25c) 20 

Seed (five pecks of seeding) 1.00 

Cutting (with binder, shocking and stacking) 1.75 

Threshing (twenty bushels put in bin or car) 1.60 

Wear, tear or interest on tools 20 

Rent of land, or interest on value 2.50 



$7.75 



This was on upland worth from $15.00 to $25.00 per acre. The average for the twenty-three years was eighteen to 
nineteen bushels. With wheat averaging 65c per bushel, the cost per acre of $7.75 gives a net earning, in addition to paying 
rent on land at ten per cent of value, of $3.95 to $4.60 per acre. Many people pasture the wheat in winter if it has a good 
growth, claiming it helps the wheat unless used too late in the spring. This would increase the earning per acre about 50c. 
Where the wheat land can be purchased for the much less figure of $8.00 to $12.00, the per cent of returns from the farm 
is much increased, and surprisingly large to growers on high priced land. Figure it for yourself. 

Macaroni Wheat 

A wheat which has gained much favor among many growers in the last few years is Durum or Macaroni wheat. It, 
also, is an importation from Russia. It is much grnw n in Italy, and used for the manufacturing of Italian Macaroni, whence 
the name. The soil of Northwestern Kansas is much like the soil of Russia, where the Macaroni is grown with the Turkey. 
Kansas has taken the two wheats of Russia and produces a grade equal to the original. The amount of yearly rainfall is 
much in excess of that in Russia, the rainfall in Russia being nowhere more than seventeen inches. This is the finest 
part of the United States for the Macaroni, as it is for the Turkey. 

It yields on the average a little heavier than the Turkey, and much heavier than ordinary wheat; is nearly always 
sure of a crop as it leads all wheats, winter and spring, in its great adaptability to excesses of heat and drought. Many 

—IS— 



farmers prefer it to all others on account of its certain returns. Two or three good rains are sufficient to mature a crop ; 
otherwise the dryer and hotter the better. The requirements for a perfect grain are black prairie soil and short, hot, dry 
summers. 

It is naturally a spring wheat, but will ripen nearly as early as winter wheat, and is not susceptible to rust and smut, 
as are other spring wheats. The report of the State Department of Agriculture says, in an article : "When wheat-grow- 
ing with other varieties is practically impossible on account of drought, these varieties, by virtue of their extreme drought 
resistance, will produce ordinarily a crop of twelve to twenty bushels per acre ; and when drought is less intense but suffi- 
ciently severe to make the average yield per acre of common wheats quite low, these varieties increase the yield on an 
average one-third or more. During the last two seasons (1901-1902) in North and South Dakota, the Macaroni wheat 
yielded on the same farm from fifty per cent to one hundred per cent more per acre than the ordinary wheats, and in a num- 
ber of cases yielded three times as much as the ordinary wheat of the locality." The diiiference is not nearly so marked in 
Kansas, because the Kansas hard red wheat is such a strong producer, and is much like the Macaroni in being drought- 
resistant. 

Corn 

If writing of the entire state of Kansas, corn would be the great crop. This is true, because the eastern one-third 
of the state is practically given over to its growth. Here it gets its greatest yield, and finds its surest crop. Kansas is fa- 
mous as a wheat state, because it raises more wheat and better wheat than any other state. Yet corn in acreage, yield and 
value is far in excess of wheat. In 1902, the value of the crop was $78,321,653; in 1903, $57,078.141 ; in 1904, $50,713,955; 
the acreage decreasing in 1904, 31,619 acres. This year the acreage increased 180,000 acres. The great demand for corn in 
cattle fattening gives to the corn grower of Kansas an unlimited market at home. Throughout the middle part of the state the 
acreage of corn and wheat is about the same. The corn crop pays as well as the wheat crop, even on the upland. In 
the northwestern part of the state the upland is given over nearly entirely to wheat, and the corn is grown in the creek bot- 
tom lands. Here it is as sure a crop as corn will ever be. There is always a possibility of a failure, as every farmer has 
learned when he figured his year's profits. 



Corn in Kansas will average as well as in other stales. For the entire state the yield per acre was twenty-six bushels 
in 1903, marketing at $8.75 per acre. In 1904, twenty-three bushels per acre at $7.81. The average of a number of 
costs submitted is as follows: 

Plowing, per acre $1.00 

Harrowing 15 

Planting with check row planters 15 

Seed 05 

Cultivating 1.00 

Husking and cribbing forty bushels 1 .00 

Wear, tear or interest on tools 62 

I-ient of land ( or interest on value ) 1.75 

Total cost ^5.72 

Value of land per acre, $25.00. 

Yield per acru for ten years, 35 bushels. 

As the rent of land has been charged with the cost of production, figure the profit on $25.00 per acre land. That 
ibis figure is not high is shown by the fact that others report an average of thirt}--scvcn, thirty-eight, forty and forty-five 
bushels for ten years. 

Kafir Corn 

When under climatic conditions corn is not a sure crop, Kafir corn is substituted. It is a native of South Africa, 
In this country it was grown first in the Southern states. It is sometimes grown where Indian corn can profitably grow, 
liut it is a corn for those parts of the country where corn fails sometimes to produce a sure crop. On account of increased 
altitude in the western part of Kansas, the nights here are too cool for the best corn growth. The moisture here may be 
more often lacking at that time in corn life when rain is absolutely needed than it is in Central and Eastern Kansas and the 
exclusive corn states. Indian corn is a great crop in Saline county, producing in 1904, 1,584,513 bushels from 53,397 acres; 



in Ellsworth, 1,002,400 bushels on 35,800 acres; in Russell, 77,718 bushels on 25,906 acres; in Ellis county it is still good 
with 185,548 bushels on 8,434 acres; in Trego, 195,456 bushels on 12,341 acres; in Gove, 135,681 bushels on 10,437 acres; 
in Wallace, 21,994 bushels on 1,571 acres. And in all these counties we find Kafir corn grown with the following values 
returned per acre: Salina, $12.00; Ellsworth, $13.50; Russell, $9.00; Ellis, $13.50; Trego, $6.25; Gove, $6.00; Wallace, 
$7.00. 

The yield per acre of Kafir corn is above that of Indian corn. At the Kansas Experimental Station when Indian 
corn produced 45.50 bushels of grain and 3.07 tons of fodder, Kafir corn produced 58.25 bushe'.s of grain and 6.05 tons 
of fodder. The year Red Kafir corn gave 71 bushels of grain per acre and 9 tons of fodder, corn gave 56 bushels and 2.5 
tons. Kafir gave 98 bushels and 6 tons, corn gave 74 bushels and 2.95 tons. When Kafir gave 50 bushels and 5 tons, 
corn gave 30 bushels and 4.55 tons. When Kafir gave 49 busliels and 5.25 tons, corn gave 30 bushels and 1.75 tons. 
When Kafir gave 43.07 bushels and 1.53 tons, corn gave 22.76 bushels and 1.64 tons. 

Alfalfa 

Of equal importance and value with Kafir corn as a feed is alfalfa. It is not a new crop and needs an introduction 
to no one, be he farmer or stockman. It is the best furage plant on the farm. It is best fed as a hay. Cattle go through the 
winter on it in good condition. With some Kafir corn or sorghum as a fattencr, it is indispensable for wholesome rough- 
ness, and is used in place of such hi^h priced feeds as cotton and linseed meal and bran. It is alfalfa which makes pos- 
sible to the Northwestern Kansas dairyman his large profits, for it is his feed for the winter. It is the best pasture for 
hogs. It ranks with corn as a fattener. A cattleman says of its value, "It is worth fully as much per ton as red clover, 
one-half more than millet or Kafir corn with seed on, four times as much as wheat straw, and three times as much as prairie 
hay." 

The soil best suited to its growth is a rich loam, with mineral qualities to give plant food. The soil should be 
such that moisture in large quantities can get to its roots. This is why the creek bottoms are so suitable to its growth. 
Water here may be had at a depth of ten to twenty feet. The roots of an alfalfa plant have been known to grow more 
than that length. Second bottom, with a greater depth to water, has been found as good as the first bottom. It makes four 
crops a year, averaging a ton and more per acre. The uplands will grow alfalfa, and with as good a yield as any other 
cultivated grasses. But that land is the wheat land, and it takes water to grow good alfalfa. 



There is no difficulty in getting a good stand. The two things necessary are a subsoil saturated with water, and a 
warm soil at time of seeding. This insures quick germination, and once started the plant can stand continued drought. 
It may stop growing, but the first rain starts it again on its way to the feed barn. 

Kansas Cattle 

It is a question if much space in this book need be given to the cattle raising industry in Kansas. Sure it is that 
such space is not necessary to draw the attention of the stock growers or feeders of the country to the especial fitness of 
Kansas for this industry, the great abundance of feed grown, the adaptability of the pasture land for all-year grazing, the 
economy with which steers can be fed and finished, and the close proximity to the second largest cattle market in the coun- 
try, the stock yards of Kansas City. But it is necessary to give such space in this book, just to be fair to the cattle, the 
steers that top the market, the cows that fill the herd, and the cows that bring the large returns in dairy products. And 
that is all we will do, not so much talk to the feeder, but just be fair to the beef steer, his mother and the dairy cow. 

Kansas does not have all kinds of beef steers. She has two kinds. For the market she has grass fed and grain 
finished, both fat and the top of the market for the kind. For the grower and feeder she has the two kinds, pure bred 
cattle and mi.xed. The native Kansas cattle, while the majority are not pure strain, are well bred up. 

The cattle feeders of Kansas start with a good steer. They know a scrub cannot be fed with a profit. Nearly all the 
steers fed are natives, grown on the ranches where they are fed, or bought as calves. They are good, medium size and the 
choice of the market. Some feeders bring in cattle from th? Panhandle and from Mexico. Some get the heavy Colo- 
rados. But the Kansas feeder gets his best profit from a Kansas steer, and he likes him. 

There are many pure strain herds. The Hereford and Shorthorn take precedence in numbers. Then, there are the 
Angus, the Galloways, etc. Many men are prize growers, show annually at the Royal and the Chicago Live Stock Shows, 
and sell their bull calves for a good price as leaders for other herds, or to be crossed with common or mixed cows. Others 
feed and ship to market, and invariably offer the best in the lots. One might safely say there is no raiser in Kansas who has 
not a pure bred leader for his herd. The good result is evident right away by the marks, and in a few years his herd is 
well bred up. 











r'^:- ..'^.^ 




iirw->: 




Grass and Grain Fed 

It is a question of personal opinion whether a grass fed or a grain fed is more profitable in Kansas. Most of the 
cattle are grass fed. It is so easy to fatten a steer in Kansas. They feed on the grass the year round. Many a winter 
passes and the cattle feed upon the range with no roughage, but well supplied with good meat providing grass, and 
sheltered from the wind by the little \-alleys and draws which are so numerous in the pasture lands. The creeks, most of 
them, are spring fed. Water can be had at small depth. Feeding cattle under such conditions seems like making money 
mighty easy. It is. 

The native grass of Kansas is unexcelled for fattening cattle. They prefer it to any other grass. It never growf 
very high. They don't let it. It is green in the spring and early summer. In the fall it curls up, loses its color, and cures 
itself for the winter. It is then the cattle like it best, and if the winter is not too cold for them to feed upon the range^ 
they need no other feed. When they need feed, the best are at hand — corn, Kafir corn, alfalfa and sorghum. 

It is cheaper to grain finifh a steer in Kansas than in any other state. Corn is corn, the country over. The 
Kansas farmer uses it, and plenty of it. He starts with a large profit on his corn raised. But to fatten his cattle he has 
not only the corn, but he knows how economically with corn can be combined Kafir corn, or sorghum, or alfalfa. Feeders 
claim the result is as good as a straight ccrn feed, and so he starts with a large profit ahead of the man who is confined 
to corn. Again, a loss does not stare him in the face if corn is a failure, or a short crop. It is possible to fatten steers on 
Kafir corn exclusively and such steers will compete successfully in the market with the higher cost ones fattened on corn. 
General statistics of the United States Agricultural Department give the following comparison of values : 
As feeder. Heat, fat, etc. Muscle and Milk. 

Shelled corn. 81 per cent. 10.5 per cent. 

Sorghum seed. 77.9 per cent. 9.1 per cent. 

Kafir corn seed. 80.7 per cent. 10.9 per cent. 

The feeder in Kansas follows his cattle with hogs. .\s every feeder knows their increase is practically all gain. 
Again the Kansas feeder has the advantage over the feeder in. other states. He has his alfalfa, which is the best forage 
that may be obtained for hogs, and his Kafir. 







Grass Fattened in Ellsworth County 



Made from one Pattern 



The value of live stock has shown a steady increase each year, with the exception of the years 1892-93-94 and 95, 
each of these years showing a slight decrease. The statistics for the year 1904 show the number of fed cattle to be 
2,757,542, at a value of $51,014,527. The number of swine 2,127,482, at a value of $15,956,115. The sheep have stead- 
ily decreased in numbers, the year 1904 showing 167,721 at a value of $503,163. But these sheep were fed at a large 
profit. 

The Dairy Profit 

The dairy cow has helped make the Kansas farmer rich. On the Union Pacific main line, and on the Lincoln 
branch, one creamery company paid out in one month for butter fat $18,246. At Sharon Springs, Wallace county, over 
$1,000 was paid out. The dairy cow is the small farmer's best friend. A good herd is a year-round producer, giving an 
income every month. The larger returns come when the crop season is passed, and the farmer would, but for his dairying, 
be living on the profits of his wheat crop. The steer pays by finishing him young, while the dairy cow increases in value 
as she ages. There is a great economy in the feeding of a dairy animal, to oflfset the attention she receives. The dairy cow 
needs no special feeding; when too cold for her to graze on the bufifalo grass, the alfalfa is just the thing, and the 
Northwestern Kansas farmer has it in abundance. 

From the reports the most commonly used breeds are Shorthorns, Jerseys and Angus. The yearly income per cow 
ranged from $15 to $40. Nearly all the dairy men used alfalfa and Kafir corn. The cream is shipped to Topeka and to 
Denver, and is used by smaller cities in the state. 

Horticulture 

The people of Northwestern Kansas are planting trees. The State Forestry Station in Trego county has sent out 
this year over 340,000 trees of various kinds, shade and fruit trees, apple, pear, peach, apricot, plum, cherry, etc. One 
farmer says he has planted 1,400 trees within the last year. Besides the fruit trees they have begun to have small fruit in 
abundance. The garden is as productive and as helpful as the garden of any housewife anywhere. The bees get the finest 
honey from the alfalfa fields. There are many vineyards. 




An Orchard in Wallace County 

_.J4_ 



Plain Sense 

The foregoing pages have tried in a simple way to give an outhne of the principal agricultural money-makers of 
Kansas. Even in their incompleteness they have told a wonderful story of a prosperous section. But do not be satisfied 
with the opinion you have formed. An opinion brings no profit. After reading this book sit down and think over the 
whole matter. You will end by having an enthusiasm that will take you to the Great Wheat Belt of Kansas. 

Laud at oiw lime had no value ; one used what one wished. Demand for the same farm brought value. In every 
state in the Union, with no exception, land prices have moved with demand in the scale from no value per acre to 50c and 
$1.25, $2 and $3, $5, $10, $20 to $30, $40 to $.^0 and %7S, ?100, $125, $150 and $200. The land now selling for $40, $60, 
$100 and $150, all, the high price the same as the low price, has sold for $5 and for $10 per acre. 

The $100 land produced as well when it sold for $15 jicr acre. It may have been farmed less carefully, but the land 
was newer and the yield per acre was as much as any year in the advance from $15 to $100. 

That advance did not come because the land produced more. It did not. With each advance the per cent of profit 
decreased. But the price advanced because men, coming Into the state when land prices were low and profits large, had 
accumulated a considerable sum of money, sufficient to pay a higher price than any other buyer. This land was given to 
their sons who. while they were unable to increase the capital, still were able to make a good living, and were satisfied. 

Kansas land produces equal to any .^^tate. The yield in wheat is greater. The corn in the corn belt is equally as 
good. The cattle are fattened and finished cheaper. The hay is better. The oats, barley, Kafir, alfalfa, just as good as any 
state. Get the reports of your Hoard of Agriculture and figure the yield per acre. Every figure in the book is authentic 
and the average of the entire county or state. 

Land in Kansas sells from $6 to $12, $20 to $40 per acre. Good level land, rich in mineral matter, fine for wheat, 
corn, alfalfa, Kafir, barley, oats and the grasses, will grow profitably anything planted except c(jtton. 

This, Then, Must be True 

The per cent of profit from fanning in Kansas is much greater than on high priced lands. No man can make 
more than a li-.'ing from higli priced land. Hozvever ambitious he may be a man of moderate means cannot buy a home 



there. If he is ambitious, there is but one hope for his securing a honie, filling it with life's comforts and giving his 
children the education he zcishcs for them. He must buy lower priced land. He must buy plenty of it. He must make a 
good per cent of return from his purchase and his labor. He must buy a home at $6, $12, $20, to $40 per acre, and in no 
place can he Und such an opportunity as in the Great Wheat Belt of Northivestern Kansas. 

It requires ten million acres of land each year to supply the demand in this country. There will be a time soon when 
all farming land will be in use. This means two things for you : 

First: — Land in Kansas is increasing in value very rapidly. There is a decided demand for the land. Hundreds 
of buyers come into the territory each excursion day. The fact that many of these buyers are from Eastern Kansas, and 
are selling their $40, $60, $100 and $125 land and reinvesting farther out, is worth your consideration. 

It means second for you — As you must move sometime or remain satisfied with making a mere living, with }-our 
abilities restrained with insufficient land, the sooner you make the move the better. Or, if you cannot make the move right 
away, select and secure )Our land and move onto it at your convenience. This is not advice. It is PLAIN SENSE. 
Think it over. 

Cheap transportation has brought about a comparative price level throughout the world. Wheat from your $10 an 
acre farm sells within a few cents freight of that from your $125 land. The same force is working toward, and will soon 
bring about an equalization of land values. 

A man's business in life is to make money. Not for the sake of having it, but to give his loved ones the comforts 
and advantages which are due the wife and children of every honest man who is willing to work. Many willingly endure 
hardships to make it, and oftentimes subject their families to great inconvenience. But in Kansas farming with large 
profits is easier than lesser returns elsewhere. Your family has every comfort, the best of schools, plenty of churches, a 
telephone in nearly every house, fine water, the healthiest of climate, and neighbors as progressive and ambitious as 
yourself. If you want money, if you are ambitious, if you are hemmed in and need a chance to change from a quarter 
section to a section, come to the Great Wheat Belt of Kansas. 



The Immigration Department and its Work 

The Railroads have been the chief factor in pushing the development of the country. For business reasons, of course, 
and with no prospects of present returns, they have spent money freely to bring people into the sparsely settled districts 
and to show these new-comers every favor and every courtesy. The territory tributary to it is a railroad's special care. 
The railroad upbuilds it ; or the country and the individual towns drag along unable to make a showing of development. 
The railroad sends its representatives and its literature mto the closely settled districts, and induces the settlers to its 
territory and the business men to its towns. 

The work of the Immigration Department, then, is plain. Its aim is to secure settlers for territory tributary to the 
Union Pacific. It supervises hundreds of agents working to this end. To the homeseeker and investor these agents go, 
telling him the advantages of the section or county for which they are securing people. Every question is answered ; 
all literature and reports placed for his consideration; everything done, in fact, that will get him thoroughly acquainted 
with the country and make him a satisfied settler. Satisfied settlers is what the railroad wants. Then, he is invited to see 
the country for himself and choose his home. Twice each month, the first and third Tuesdays, special excursions are run to 
any point in Homeseekers' territory, with liberal stop-over privileges, at about one fare for the round trip. A representative 
of the Department accompanies each party from its home town, attends to the purchasing of railroad tickets, and, when 
asked, advises with his people regarding a purchase. 

In doing its work, the Immigration Department has an eye for the needs of the country as well as for the wants of 
the settlers. It co-operates with the Commercial Clubs of the towns along the Union Pacific in any work they may be do- 
ing, and with the local land owners and land dealers when they have people who are coming into the territory. 

The basis of all the work of the Department is publicity. The Department distributes through the agents and the mail 
the literature and advertising matter which the Railroad Company publishes regarding any of ^ts territory. It dis- 
tributes in the same manner literature published by anv special section or Commercial Club of any town, or will arrange 
to co-operate with them in doing the work of such publishing. It has for the home seeker and investor, or will get for him, 
any information he may desire on any section or any town along the line of the Union Pacific Railroad or connecting 
Hues; also any information relating to special low rate excursion dates, rates, routes, etc. 



Salina 

Salina, the county seat of Saline Comity, is 18G milts from Kansas City, and the largest city on the Union Pacific 
west of Topeka, the state capital. It is a city with a population of 8,000. It is a city with business, improvements, style 
and go enough for a city of 30,000 to 50,000. It has electric light, gas and water works ; fire department ; paved streets ; 
four good parks ; two handsome High School buildings : a post office and United States District Court Building erected at 
a cost of $85,000; a $15,000 Carnegie library; a $40,000 Masonic Temple, with pipe organ, stage, etc., a handsome Odd 
Fellows' building and strong chapters of Knights of Pythias, Elks, Modern Woodmen of America, Eagles, United Com- 
mercial Travelers, etc. There are two daily papers, one with the Associated Press dispatches, with a wide circulation 
throughout Northwestern Kansas, and four weekly papers. Its retail stores are suited to the needs of the town and the 
prosperous country surrounding. The buildings are capacious and modern. That its people ask for the good things of lif ; 
is shown by the large department stores, the large grocery stores and the very numerous tailor shops. A fact of which 
Salina can justly be proud is that it has the largest Commercial Club in the state, working to make Salina a better town. 
You leave the city with a strong desire to return. 

Salina is unsurpassed as a wholesale commercial point. Salina is the gateway for all the territory on the Union Pa- 
cific west of it, on the main line a distance of 200 miles, and on the Lincoln Branch from Salina to Colby, a distance of 226 
miles. More than that, it is the commercial head of all that territory lying west and north of it. This makes it the natural 
distributing point for more than one-fourth of the state of Kansas, — twenty-six counties, with an area of 23,460 square 
miles ; a population of 236,964 contented, prosperous and purchasing people. All this is its by right of position. By good 
will and energy it pushes its trade north and east. 

A few salient features on the map should be noticed to show how naturally Salina holds this important place as a 
wholesale distributing point. From Salina the Lincoln Branch of the Union Pacific Railroad extends po Colby through the 
tier of counties parallel to the main line counties. The McPherson Branch connects McPherson with Salina. From Sol- 
omon, 14 miles east, is the Solomon Branch to Minneapolis and Beloit. From Junction City, 47 miles east, the Junction City 
Branch connects with Concordia and Belleville. The railroads of that part of the state converge at Salina. The rivers, too, 
come to Salina. Freight from any point in its territory is within a day's haul. 




Santa Fe Street at S.' 



That this is a strategic point for handhng trade is evident by the strength of the wholesale business houses. A 
wholesale grocery and notion house has a capital of $250,000, a surplus of $250,000, and has 25 men traveling for its trade. 
A wholesale grocery house has a capital of $115,000 and travels ten men. A hardware house has a capital of $250,000 and 
eleven men. A candy house with $25,000 capital and five men. A wholesale fruit house with a capital of $15,000 and three 
men. Four flouring mills with a daily capacity of 2,100 barrels. There is an ice plant with a capacity of 40 tons of ice per 
day, and cold storage for 100 cars. A body brace house which sells by mail order wherever English is spoken. More than 
200 traveling men have their headquarters here. Four banks have a combined capital of $235,000, a surplus of $125,000 
and deposits of $1,790,000. 

The ties of church relationship and school association unite with those of commerce to bind all Northwestern Kansas 
to Salina. Four Presiding Elders of the Methodist Episcopal church have their headquarters here. Two Methodist schools, 
the Kansas Wesleyan University and the Kansas Wesleyan Business College, draw students to Salina. The Episcopal See 
of the Salina Diocese is here. The St. John's Military school is an Episcopal school, and the authorized church school for 
Kansas, Colorado, Indian Territory, Texas and New Mexico. This school in competitive drill won first prize at the World's 
Fair in 1904. Then there are many other strong churches. — Presbyterian, Christian, Baptist, English, German and Swedish 
Lutheran, Catholic, with a good Catholic school, United Brethren, Congregational, Colored Baptist and Colored Methodist. 
There is also a school of telegraphy. 

Saline County ranks as one of the foremost agricultural counties in the state. Its wheat yield this year is given at 
1,851,376 bushels, an average yield of 17 bushels per acre. In 1904 corn, 1,548,513 bushels, at a value of $588,434, the 
land earning $11.20 per acre; kafir corn 5,699 acres, worth $12.00 per acre; 9,961 acres of alfalfa; 526 acres of blue grass; 
191 acres of barley; 8,635 acres of sorghum for forage and grain; $544,896 of cattle; $116,737 of hogs; $95,026 poultry 
and eggs sold ; butter sold $40,777 ; milk sold $52,379. It has 68,364 apple trees ; 2.862 pear trees ; 74,806 peach, 5,369 plum 
and 10,040 cherry trees. There is a large settlement of Swedes in the southern part of the county, French and German in 
the western part, Scotch in the north central, Irish in the northeastern and German in the southeastern part. Land is 
worth from $20.00 to $40.00 and $50.00 per acre. 




Kansas Weslevan Uxiveusitv, Main Building and Dormitory 
Two High School Buildings at Salina 



St. John's Military AcadEiNU 




Panoramic View Looking Toward Sa 



Ellsworth 

Ellsworth is a residence town. It so impresses one at the first notice. Its stores are adequate, but not pretentious. 
One beheves its business men to be men of wealth, not because of special shrewdness on their part, but because they had 
the foresight or the happy chance to locate in a prosperous trading country. The high school, right at the business part of 
town, nearer than the court house, the wide lawns, the great number of broad trees meeting to shade the street, the trers 
down town, at the corner of the bank, the noted recreaticn places, the people themselves— all tend to strengthen the impres- 
sion that Ellsworth is a residence town ; and the people are well-to-do. They have a good system of waterworks and elec- 
tric lights. 

It is the county seat of Ellsworth County, one of the best in the state. The value of the property in the county is 
$2,853,253, as furnished by the county clerk. The county indebtedness $1,000. Twelve of the seventeen townships are free 
from debt, five have small sums of indebtedness. Eight of the seventy-six school districts are bonded, sixty-eight are not. 
It has an area of 460,800 acres, a population in 1904 of 9,304. There is a Bohemian settlement west and southwest of E'h- 
worth. Germans in the southern part of the county, German Lutherans in the southwestern part around Holyrood, and 
German Baptists just east of them around Lorraine. In the southeastern part are Swedes. In the county are about th'rty 
churches. 

The Smoky Hill river flows southeast across the county, entering about six miles south of its northwest corner and 
emerging about six miles north of its southeast corner. The west two-thirds of the county is used mostly for wheat rris- 
ing. North of the Smoky Hill is upland wheat land. South cf the Smoky Hill, for a distance of about nine miles, is good 
wheat land, with a limestone base, owned and farmed by the Bohemian settlement. This same stretch of slightly rolling 
land has a sandstone base in the eastern one-third of the county. In the southern part of the county is the finest of level 
wheat land, which is closely held by Germans. The eastern one-third of the county is devoted chiefly to cattle raisin;:^. It 
is claimed that Ellsworth County has the finest pasture land in the state. The best grass is blue stem and buffalo mixed 
The land here is rolling and, while it could be farmed, is u=ed nearly exclusively for grazing. 

The rainfall, taken only since May, 1904, is as follows; May, 1904, 5.34 in.; June, 7.58; July, 8.37; Aug., 4.34; 
Sept., 5.03; October, .32; November, .24; December, .56. 1905— January, 1.06; February, 1.60; March, 1.20; April, 



1.84; May, 1.06; June, 4.58; July, 2.05; August to 14th, 1.02. The rainfall from May, 1904, to May, 1905, was 37.48 in. 
From August, 1904, to August, 1905, it was 27.88 in. Good water may be had from 20 to 75 feet. In the county, besides 
tlip rivers, are twelve to fifteen creeks, all fed hv snrinp's. 



the rivers, are twelve to fifteen creeks, all fed by springs 



Ellsworth is a famous wheat county. In 1903 it yielded 1,919,490 bu. at an average of 15 bu. per acre and a value 
of $8.00 per acre. In 1904, 1,520,736 bu., an average of 12 bu. per acre and a value of $9.24. In 1905, 1,587,118 bu. at 14 
bu. per acre. Corn in 1903 yielded 1,070,010 bu. at an average of 30 bu. per acre and a value of $10.50. In 1904, 1,002,40J 
bu., an average of 28 bu. per acre, at $10.92 per acre. Oats in 1903, 27 bu. per acre at $9.18; in 1904, 20 bu. at $7.41. 
Rye in 1903, 16 bu. at $7.20, and in 1904, 12 bu. at $7.44. Barley in 1903, ?>2 bu. at $16.00, and in 1904, 19 bu. at $7.60. 
Sweet potatoes in 1903, 40 bu. at $38.00, and in 1904, 105 bu. at $102.00. Irish potatoes in 1903, 63 bu. at $47.25 per acre, 
and in 1904, 103 bu. at $57.68. Millet, two tons to the acre at $8.00, and in 1904 the same. Sorghum for forage an I 
grain, $9.63 per acre. Milo maize in 1903, 4 tons per acre at $12, and in 1904, 4 tons at $14. Kafir corn in 1903, 3.5 tons 
per acre at $10.50, and in 1904, 5 tons at $13.50 per acre. In 1903 the county had 2,883 acres of alfalfa; in 1904 3,034 
acres of alfalfa. In 1904, exclusive of $ll'),.i30 ..f milk cow , Ellsworth county had at time of report $592,990 of cattle, and 
$67,620 of swine. In 1904 animals sold for slaughter, $569,348; poultry and eggs sold, $69,326; dairy products, $28,020 
worth of butter, $38,737 of milk ; $7,277 of garden and $550 of horticultural products. The county has 27,689 apple trees, 
1.84" pear, 49,815 peach, 4,310 plum. 10,170 cherry, and 7c7 :cres of shade trees, one year old and over. 

After studying these average yields, the item of most interest will be the price of the land. But before stating the 
prices let a few instances be sighted : Five years ago a man ' ought a quarter section for $800. He has refused $3,500 for 
it. A man bought a half section four years ago for $3,200 ; he has refused $9,000. During the four years he has averaged 
therefrom 20 bu. of wheat per acre. A man four miles from town has 250 acres in corn which average 65 to 75 bu. per acre. 
It is worth $40.00 per acre, or $10,000. Four years ago a n:an bought a section for $6,200. Four hundred acres are in 
cultivation, and his wheat averaged 20 bu. to the acre. He sold for $15,500. Two men bought a ranch of 11,228 acres for 
$76,000. In fourteen months they sold it for $125,000 and it is now into farms. Good bottom land for corn, kafir corn 
and alfalfa can be bought at about $30 per acre. Good choi e land for %2S. Eight to nine miles out at $20. Land which 
will grow good corn at $20. The best pasture land, which could be broken and farmed, $12.50 to $15.00. Choice pasture 
land at $10. 




Ranch Scene 



Salt Works at Ellsworth 



The Smoky Hill River tust South of Ellsworth 



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Court House at Russell 



Russell 

Russell is the town of stone building-s. The court house, the school house, hotel, bank, stone buildings, nearly every- 
thing in town, in fact, but the grain elevators and the churches, are of stone. And the second fine part about it all is that 
this building stone is quarried in the county. Many of the country houses are of stone, some of the barns, and nearly all 
of the fence posts. One of the prettiest sights in Northwestern Kansas is seeing section after section of land with its mile 
after mile of white stone posts. This fence-post limestone is soft when quarried, is easily sawed out, and is taken out in 
required size and of sufficient length to permit of deep ground setting. These posts harden with exposure, so that when once 
up they will last for all time. Cost of posts on ground ready for setting from 22 to 25 cents each, or only a few cents more 
than wood posts. 

Russell is the county seat of Russell County. This is one of the best counties in the state. There is no county indebt- 
edness, and only one township bonded. The total valuation of all property as fixed by the state beard was $2,406,667, the 
900 square miles of land valued at $1,252,978. Without an exception all who have worked have money in the bank. There 
are eight banks in the county, and two others in one-half mile of the county. There are 67 school districts ; about 33 
churches. Wheat produced, '2,704,338 bu. in 1903; 1,860,157 bu. in 1904; 1,448,810 bu. in 1905. Corn, f,07,507 bn. in 1903; 
777,180 bu. in 1904. 

The land around Russell is nearly level, sloping to the Saline river on the north, and to the Smoky Hill on the 
south. This land is used nearly wholly for wheat. The river bottoms are given to corn and alfalfa. Along both rivers is 
rolling pasture land, and used principally for cattle. North of the Saline and south of the Smoky Hill is level wheat laml. 

The land yielded: In 1903, wheat, 18 bu. per acre, at a value of $9.12; in 1904, 13 bu., at $10.00. Corn, in 1903, 
31 bu., at $11.47; in 1904, 30 bu., at $11.70. Oats, in 1903, 30 bu., at $9.90; in 1904. 16 bu, at $5.76. Barley, in 1903, 
35 bu., at $12.95; in 1904, 25 bu., at $9.75. Irish potatoes, in 1903, 75 bu., at $62.25; in 1904, 94 bu., at $52.64. Sweet 
potatoes, in 1903, 45 bu., at $42.25; in 1904, 85 h:\, at $68.00. Flax, in 1903, 7 bu., at $56.00. Milo maize in 1903, 4 tons 
per acre, at $12.00. Kafir corn, in 1903, 4 tens at $12.00; in 1904 3 tons, at $9.00. 3,364 acres of alfalfa, 12,284 tons of 
hay, 60,000 acres of pasture fenced. Milk cows at $207,750, other cattle at $593,896. Sheep, $15,105, and swine $44,408. 
Animals sold for slaughter, $248,270. Poultry and eggs, $73,134. Butter, $33,921. Milk, $52,379. There were 13,571 
apple trees, 938 pear, 40,974 peach, 2,561 plum, 8,693 cherry trees and 104 acres of forest trees. 




A Good Field of Corn 



Wheat cut with Header and Stacked 



There are many wheat growers in Russell County who keep an accurate account of each year's business. One man 
gives his average cost of raising an acre of wheat at $7.75, including $2.50 as rent or interest on land value, and an aver- 
age yield for 20 years of 18 bu. Another man gives his cost per acre at $4.80, with the following items: Ploughing, $1.25 ; 
harrowing, 55c; drilling, 35c; seed, 65c; cutting, $1.50; threshing, at 6c, 90c. For seventeen years his wheat has yielded 
an average of 15 1-3 bu. His highest yields were 35 bu., 25 bu., 24 and 23 bu. Two years his yield was nothing (00), the 
wheat not coming up the fall of '92, and destroyed by hail in '96. His average selling price per bu. was 64c. This gave 
liim a profit on each acre of $5.02. His land, worth $25.00 per acre, made his farm pay him 20 per cent profit. Less the 
three bad years in the seventeen, his average yield would have been 17 4-5 bus. per acre, his profit have been $6.59, and 
the per cent of profit on his farming 26j4. According to the grower's own statement, he has hired all his work done, and 
has been accurate in all accounts. 

The cattle of the county are an interesting part of its wealth. There are many pure bred Hereford, Angus and Short- 
horn. Some of these are show cattle. Many are sold to be used for breeding purposes. Nearly all are to l^e found in the 
northern part of the county along the Saline river and Wolf creek. Most of them are grass fed, but there are some corn 
fed shipments, fat and ripe. There is little dairy stock in the county ; they use double-purpose cows. 

There is no unused land in the county. The residents have purchased nearly all the non-resident property. Each 
farmer has made enough money to double his holdings, and is usually willing to buy a desirably situated quarter or half sec- 
tion. This is not to have any one believe there is no land to be purchased. Prices range from $20.00 to $35.00 per acre for 
good wheat, corn and alfalfa lands, and from $15.00 to $25 00 for a second grading. Rolling pasture land sells for $8.00 
to $12.00 per acre. 

The farms in Russell County are well kept. A very industrious class of people have settled here, and the farms in 
the view from the train window look just as well farmed, and the people just as prosperous, as any part of the country a 
person might visit. 

Each year finds more of these people paying great attention to soil condition. The sight of the country from the 
train, while it does not give an idea of the level wheat land in its full expanse, gives a good and true showing of the pros- 
perity of the country. 





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Fenxeu with Stone Posts 



Kafir Corn, Farm House and Barn 



Hays 

Hays, besides being tlie county seat of Ellis County, a good business point with a population of 2,000 and having 
a good system of water works, electric lights and a 600 barrel flouring mill, is of importance, because the Ft. Hays 
Experimental Station, a branch of the Kansas State Agricultural College, the State Normal School, and a State park, 
are here. These three are a result of a pledge from the state, when taking over the Ft. Hays military reservation from 
the Department of the Interior. This gives to the people of Northwestern, Western and Central Kansas benefits of which 
they would otherwise be deprived, as the State Agricultural College and the State Normal Institute are in the eastern 
]iart of the state. 

Four thousand acres of ground are given to the use of the Experiment Station, one-half of which is under cultivation. 
The Station is superintended by Mr. O. H. Filing, B. S. The purpose of the Station is by experimentation upon all the 
different soils to be found in Northwestern Kansas, under all adverse as well as good conditions, to determine what crops 
pay the largest returns, what variety of each crop is best suited to the country, and what methods of farming are prefer- 
able under the various conditions. Each cereal and each grass is studied, and all details noted and filed. Many varieties 
of winter wheat are tested, trying to get the same soil and ground cultivation for each ; and the yield per acre and points 
of interest on the growth noted. Then comparisons of the same variety under different soil conditions are made. The 
same tests are made with spring wheat, com, kafir corn, sorghum, alfalfa, oats, barley, etc. The results of these experi- 
ments are published in bulletin form, and may be had upon request. 

The station also conducts experiments in cattle feeding. This work will be extended when conditions permit. 

An orchard of 300 acres was set out in 1903, and has made a good growth. Evergreen, walnut, oak, locust, and 
Cottonwood shade trees were planted. All are in charge of a special man. 

Land in Ellis County has the same general form as in the other counties. North of Hays is wheat land valued 
at from $15 to $35 per acre. Three miles south of the Saline river, in the northern part of the county, is rolling pasture 
land. In the Saline bottom and the few creeks is good alfalfa land. North of the Saline is comparatively level corn 
and alfalfa land. South of Hays is Big Creek and just south of this, about a mile from the town, is the Experimental 
Station. In the Big Creek bottom good alfalfa is grown, and corn. To the south is level wheat land at a price of $12.50 




Experiment Station 



A Small Section of the Town of Hays 



to $25.00 per acre, until the Smoky Hill is reached. There is little rough land along the Smoky Hill River ; the land south of 
it selling from $6.00 to $25.00 per acre, that being the extremesouthern part of the county. 

There is more corn this year than for a number of years, and it is in good condition. The acreage has increased 
in the last two or three years. Kafir corn is used generally for feed. On the Saline most of the cattle are finished 
on grain. There are some thoroughbred Herefords and Polled Angus. Not many cattle are shipped in to be fed. Most 
of the feeders buy calves in the neighborhood, at a price of $5.00 to $10.00 per head. In some years cattle are driven 
in for wheat pasture. 

Of the 576,000 acres in the county, 181,081 acres are sown to winter wheat, 12,444 to corn (against 8,434 in 
1904) 729 to Irish potatoes, 5,434 to Kafir. Wheat in 1903 averaged 17 bu. to the acre, at a value of $9.10; in 1904, 
9 bu. at $6.84. Corn in 1903, 30 bu. at $11.20; in 1904, 22 bu. at $9.02. Oats in 1903, 30 bu. at $10.80; in 1904, 17 
bu. at $5.95. Rye in 1903, 16 bu. at $6.72; in 1904, 10 bu. at $5.30. Bariey in 1903, 30 bu. at $11.40; in 1904, 14 
bu. at $5.18. Irish potatoes in 1903, 47 bu. at $37.13; in 1904, 65 bu. at $40.30. Sweet potatoes, no acreage either 
year. Sorghum in 1904, planted for syrup, 80 gal. per acre at $28.00; for forage or grain, 5,706 acres at $6.00 per 
acre. Kafir corn in 1903, two tons per acre at $7.50; in 1904, three tons at $13.50. Jerusalem corn in 1903, three 
tons at $9.00; in 1904, three tons at $12.00. 1,252 acres of alfalfa; 77,172 acres of prairie fenced. $212,475 as value 
of milk cows, $335,747 of other cattle; $603,975 value of horses; $23,081 of swine; animals sold for slaughter $93,369; 
poultry and eggs sold $38,551; $23,902 of butter; $7,494 of milk; $2,242 garden products; 3,627 apple trees; 628 pear 
trees; 7,947 peach; 4,105 plum trees; 3,952 cherry trees; 50 acres nurseries; 22 acres raspberries; 14 acres strawberries; 
995 acres artificial forest trees. 

The specialty of the county is wheat raising. One man has reported to Secy. Coburn that for the past twenty- 
five years he has sown about 500 acres of winter wheat and has had but two failures. His land is upland and his aver- 
age has been 12 bushels. Another has been growing for twenty years on 300 acres, an average of 15 bu. to the acre. 
Another has been raising Turkey wheat in Kansas for twenty-five years, on 200 acres of bottom land. His average has 
been 12 bu. per acre. Most of the farmers plow their stubble under. Some pasture during the fall and winter. Some 
plan a crop rotation, most of them produce annually from the same areas. 




Ranch Scene near Wa-Keeney 



Wa-Keeney 

There are no things of special importance in Wa-Keeney, nor in Trego County. One might say that no one thing 
impresses itself more than many others. It is a wheat county, for one-eighth of its area is in wheat. But, at tlie same time, 
it is remembered the corn acreage is large, and the sorghum, alfalfa and barley. There is a $40,000 stone court house, and 
every stone paid for; but so are many of the store buildings and the railroad station of stone. This is a good trading point, 
the farming people are prosperous, and there is plenty of money in the county'. But, again, than the people of Wa-Keeney 
none more progressive or courteous will be found in this state of choice people. 

Trego County has an area of 900 square miles, or 576 000 acres. Of this, 126,676 acres are under cultivation. The 
county has 718 families, and a population exceeding 3,800. The county indebtedness is $2,000. Not a township is bonded. 
Very few school districts are bonded. Therefore taxes are very light. There are forty-seven school districts. Combined 
with the Wa-Keeney City High School is the County High School, in charge of a corps of as competent teachers as are in 
the state. There are twelve churches in the county, which ir elude Swedish, German Lutheran and Catholic. In Collyer 
township is a Bohemian settlement. They raise most of the macaroni wheat of the county. Ten to twelve miles south of 
Ogallah is the Swedish settlement and church. Around Collyer are many German Russians, also along the Smoky Hill- 
East of Wa-Keeney is the branch of the Kansas State Forestry Station. 

The surface soil of Trego County is a black loam, 18 in. to 6 ft. deep, an average of four feet. The Saline river flows 
through the northern part of the county, about six miles north of Wa-Keeney. South of Wa-Keeney a few miles is Big 
creek. Through the southern part of the county, about six miles north of the line, flows the Smoky Hill river. Most of 
the pasture land is here, and the stock is found in greater numbers than on the Saline. The greater part of the county is 
wheat land. There is fine alfalfa land on the bottoms, and the county does not lack in pasturage. 

There is a splendid quality of building stone ; both hard and soft limestone and soft magnesia limestone, in white, 
red and yellow. Also magnesia, ochre and iron stone. 

The county averaged, according to the reports : \\'heat, in 1903, 18 bu. per acre, at a value of $9.36. Corn, in 
1903, 20 bu. per acre, at $7.00; in 1904, 16 bu., at $6.72. Oats, in 1903, 26 bu. per acre, at $9.36; in 1904, 21 bu., at $6.30. 
Barley, in 1903, 28 bu. per acre, at $9.52 ; in 1904, 19 bu., at $6.27. Irish potatoes, in 1903, 80 bu. per acre, at $72.00 ; in 




Alfalfa Land, Showing a Good Crop 



A Pretty Sight 



1904, 75 bu., at $48.75. Sweet potatotoes, 80 bu., at $76.00. Kafir corn, 3 tons per acre, at $9.00, and 2 tons, at $5.25. 
There were 3,294 acres of millet, 8,720 of sorghum for forage, 4,645 of alfalfa, 32,156 acres of prairie fenced, $128,067 of 
tame hay, $333,512 of horses and mules, $488,112 of milch cows and other cattle, $55,053 animals slaughtered, $22,927 
poultry and eggs sold, $11,166 of butter and $6,721 of milk sold. There were 4,012 apple trees, 449 pear, 17,917 peach, 
35,459 plum and 4,261 cherry, and 243 acres of artificial forest. 

The cattle of the county are Kansas native, bought when calves or raised, and shipped when two and three years 
old. The majority are grass fed. Some are corned and used for export. There are many pure strain cattle. The Here- 
fords and Angus predominate. Also there are Shorthorns, Galloways and Durhams. One cattleman has a herd of 300 
Herefords, nearly pure, and raised for sale for breeding purposes. Another has Shorthorns, and sells his calves at a high 
price. Two have large herds of Galloways. Another has thoroughbred Red Polled. The water supply is the best, with 
good surface water and abundant springs. 

The best of the improved land is selling at $20.00 per acre. The usual price for good land near the railroad is 
$12.50 to $20.00 per acre. This is the best of the wheat and alfalfa land. The alfalfa land will yield $15.00 to $20.03 per 
acre, selling as it does at $5.00 per ton. Twelve to eighteen miles from town the price is $6.25 to $10.00. This land far- 
thest from town is mostly raw land; r.t the higher price the land is all under cultivation, and yielding large crops and b'g 
per cents. 

The normal precipitation is 20.27 inches. The average temperature is 52.3 degrees. ]\Iacaroni wheat is increasing 
in favor in the county, and the acreage is greater each year. For the last two years the selling price has been around $1.00 
per bushel, and sold for seed. None has been shipped. 

The farming is being done more carefully and better soil condition is sought. The fanners in Trego County when 
seeing their unused land pass into the hands of a newcomer and be farmed, have learned that the isolated quarter which they 
desire cannot now be had on the same conditions as their present holdings, but must be purchased at a competitive price. 
This realization that their land is worth more than when they purchased has caused them to plan a more thorough method 
in their farming. It has paid them well for their farms are yielders of large per cents of profit, 




Wa-Keenev from the North, Showing School House and Stone Court House 




(a) A Corner of a Wheat Field 



(b) Big Creek North of Wa-Keeney 




'Wheat Grows Right up to the Town's Back Door." — Grainfield 



Grainfield and Gove 

Grainfield is all the name suggests. Wheat grows right up to the town's back door. South of the town, just across 
the railroad tracks on either side of the road, are fields of corn. The town is but a trading point, a meeting place, a com- 
mon residence spot, in an otherwise continuous field of grain. There is something about the name which attracts the home- 
seeker. He says to himself that here is a place, they must have it, and they do. 

Gove is the county seat. It is situated twelve miles south of Grainfield, nearly in the center of the county. Here 
is the county court house, the homes of nearly all the county officers, the county high school, some good stores and a good 
bank, the oldest in the county. It is an unusually strong business point for a non-railroad town. 

The land around Grainfield is level. Three miles north of the town is the Saline river. The Saline b'>ttom is wider 
here than farther east, and there is a great alfalfa acreage. North of Gove is Big creek. South of Gove is Hackberry 
creek, and south of this creek two or three miles of rolling pasture land. East of Gove is quite an extensive alfalfa terri- 
tory. Beyond this rolling land is good flat wheat upland for a distance of about 12 to 14 miles, when the Smoky Hill is 
reached with its rolling uplands. At this part of the county the land has a sub-strata of shale or sand stone. East of Grain- 
field, at Buffalo Park, the farmers are nearly all Catholics. There are over 100 families of German Russians a few miles 
south of Grainfield. In the southwestern part of the county, southwest from Gove, is a strong Swedish settlement, with a 
Swedish church. There are 53 schnol districts, a county high school at Gove, nine or ten churches and some school house; 
where church is held. 

Gove County produced in 1903 more wheat per acre than any other county in the state, an average of 26 bu. — its 
average worth, $14.82 per acre. The corn averaged 23 bu. per acre, at $7.82; in 1904, 13 bu., at $5.20. In 1903, oats 
gave 38 bu. per acre, at $11.40; in 1904, 17 bu., at $5.27. In 1903, barley gave 44 bu. per acre, at $13.64, and in 1904, 28 
bu., at $7.28. In 1903, Irish potatoes, 75 bu., at $57.20; in 1904, 70 bu., at $45.50. In 1903, sweet potatoes, 65 bu., at 
$61.75; in 1904, 80 bu., at $80.00. In 1903, milo maize, 4 tons per acre, at $12. and in 1904, 3 tons, at $9.00. In 1903, 
kafir corn 3 tons per acre, at $9.00, and in 1904, 2 tons, at $6 00. In 1903, Jerusalem corn, 3 tons, at $9.00; in 1904, 2 tons, 
at $6.00. 3,457 acres of alfalfa in 1904, and much more in 1905. Animals sold for slaughter in 1904, $47,911 ; poultry and 
eggs sold, $12,309; wool clipped, $1,620.80; $11,222 butter; $9,259 of milk; garden products, $1,430; 2,603 apple trees, 666 




Watermelon Patch 



A Good Field of Wheat 



pear, 22,588 peach, 9,234 plum and 3,439 cherr)-, and 124 acres of forest trees. Attention should again be called to the 
fact that all these figures given are the average for the entire count_v as furnished by Secretary Coburn's reports. 

The land which produces these large yields sells, the highest close to town, at $15 per acre. Three, four and five 
miles from town, at $10 and $12. Six miles from the railroad, a price which may be called standard at the present time, of 
$10. At an average price of $10 per acre, land in wheat would return 1^^ times its value; in corn, 3-5; in oats, 1 1-10 
times in 1903, y. in 1904; in barley, 1 1-3 in 1903, 7-10 in 1904; in milo maize, 1 1-5 in 1903, 9-10 in 1904; kafir, 9-10 and 
3-5; in alfalfa, 1^4 to 2 times. 

South of Grainfield are a limited number of sections of land which may be had on the terms of ^, )i and some J4 
cash, the balance in equal payments of five to eight years. 

A man with very limited means can come now to Grainfield, pay less per year for his farm than he pays for rent, and 
have a large profit besides at the close of the year. 

Grainfield is at the present time the point to which the greater number of homeseekers are coming. Around Grain- 
field are settling progressive farmers from many points in Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. 
Each excursion day there are parties from all these states, and neighbors at home continue neighbors here. Or the Ger- 
man settler may live among the Germans, the Bohemian homeseeker near the well-to-do Bohemian. 

Grainfield and Gove County are now so satisfactory to the home buyer because the land for sale is near or adjacent 
to land being farmed. Yet there is much land for sale, and the price is right. In the counties east the land is nearly all 
under cultivation, and there is less land for sale. Further west buyers have a hesitancy in settling because there is too 
little cultivated land. 

Settlers coming into the county as late as last February have raised this year good crops of corn, kafir corn, barley, 
oats, etc., and their ground is in fine condition for winter wheat. This summer they have had their gardens and their 
melon patches. Shade trees have been planted. Their farm within the year is in producing order, and little time has 
been lost in the change. 




A Corner in Barlev 




The Way They Break for Wpieat in Kansas 




CuTTiNT, Barley with a Header 



Farm House, showing Orchard and Alealfa 



Sharon Springs 

Sharon Springs is the county seat of Wallace County. It is a place of interest, and proudly spoken of, because Pres- 
ident Roosevelt, when on his vice-presidential tour in 1900, Sundayed at Sharon Springs. It was a great Sunday for the 
farmers and cattlemen of the favored county. The newspapers of the country gave their attention to the town for the day. 
When cattle grazed the land, the town was called Eagle Tail. That this name was found unsuitable and the other substi- 
tuted, tells quite fully the great change from a cattle grazing to a cattle feeding and farming county. 

Wallace County is the western county in Kansas. It lacks the general development which is to be found in all the 
others. Yet in this county are many fine ranches, and good farms. Two men have as good orchards, and as productive as 
can be found anywhere. One man this year sold more than $200.00 worth of plums. 

What Wallace County needs is more men engaged in farming. It is now nearly exclusively a cattle and stock county. 
The great expanse of good land, to the eyes of a farmer looking as pretty as any picture, must soon become great wheat 
fields, giving support to many prosperous families. The desire to live close neighbors has made settlers desire to locate 
further east. But in a very short time the farmers will be choosing Wallace County in preference to crossing the line into 
Colorado. 

Wallace, the first station east, is wider known than Sharon Springs. As Fort Wallace it served for many years 
as a frontier fort against the Indians. It was for a time division terminus for the railroad. At that time the city num- 
bered 3,800 to 4,000 people. Now there are vacant business and residence houses and unused churches, onl\- a few stores 
and dwellings being occupied. It is a good trading place, though, and other interest are to come there soon. 

Getting off the train at Sharon Springs will not give a man a fair view of the country. To the r.orth he sees a level 
stretch of country. The Saline river is absent from the county. The so called Smoky Hill consists of a few creeks, which 
unite in the county east to form the Smoky Hill. Just south of the town and extending east through the county, is the roll- 
ing land along the Smoky Hill. Beyond this, for a distance of ten miles, is as pretty a stretch of level country as a man 
ever saw. As far as the eye can see is as fine land for wheat as there is in all Kansas. Section after section without a foot 
of waste land. Nearly all of this land is used for grazing. The land is either in large ranches or is held by non-residents. 
The stockmen fence in this land belonging to non-residents and pay a small rental or not as the owners demand. Each 



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Good Wheat Land used for Grazing 



A Prosperous Ranch in Wallace County 



stockman breaks out enough ground to give a supply of feed for the winter months. But he does no farming for the profit 
it brings, preferring rather to make use of the great supply of land to grass fatten his cattle. The free or small cost use 
of so much land gives to him a profit larger and easier than he could get from farming. 

But slowly these lands are getting outside the cattleman's fences. Non-residents are coming onto their land to live. 
There is a large profit for them in farming the land, and they are putting in wheat, alfalfa, corn, barley, oats and kafir. The 
buyers of the present time are coming here to farm, or are arranging for others to put a crop in for them. The eastern 
part of the county south of Wallace is a succession of wheat fields. The people there are section, half section and quarter 
section owners and are farming for a profit, and getting it each year, as their farms and bank books show. The quarter 
section men have no difficulty in securing land other than their own to farm on a very liberal lease agreement. 

How much money they are making is evident from the reports from Wallace County, as furnished by the Department 
of Agriculture. In 1903 the average yield of wheat per acre was 16 bu., at a value of $9.28. In 1905, 15 bu. (estimated). 
Corn, in 1903, though there were only 1,500 acres of corn in the county, 14 bu. per acre, at $6.44. In 1904, 14 bu., at $6.24. 
This year the corn is in fine condition and Secretary Coburn reports the corn conditions at 80 per cent. This will give a 
good yield, as the condition for the entire state was 89. Oats, 32 bu., at $11.20. Rye, 17 bu., at $8.10. Barley, in 

1903, 34 bu., at $11.22; in 1904, 20 bu., at $6.00. Irish potatoes, in 1903, 60 bu., at $42.00; in 1904, 60 bu., at $60.00. 
Sweet potatoes, in 1903, 60 bu., at $57.00; in 1904, no acreage. Millet and Hungarian, in 1903, 2 tons, at $8.00; in 

1904, 1 ton, at $3.00. Sorghum for syrup, $38.00; for fodder, $6.00. Kafir corn, 3 tons, at $9.00, and 2 tons, at $7.00. 
Cattle value, in 1903, $316,603; in 1904, $284,929. Animals slaughtered, in 1904, $37,428. Poultry and eggs sold, $5,013. 
B.utter. $3,772. Milk, $7,547. There were 422 apple trees, 46 pear. 1,364 peach, 789 plum and 170 cherry, and 69 acres of 
forest trees. 

Land in Wallace County is cheaper than in any of the others. The small acreage farmed makes this true. Land 
in the counties east is higher because it is being farmed, and there is a demand for it. It is all cheap because it all pro- 
duces equal to land in other states. Land in Wallace is selling at $6.00 per acre and up. Better located land is held for 
$8.00. $10.00, and some $12.00 per acre. 



idOV 24 1905 



• 9 9ei7 1760 910 

riiiii 


SSBdONOD dO A21Uiigi-1 



KANSAS 



MT A new booklet giving the resources of the state 
^l^of Kansas has just been published by the Pas- 
senger Department of the Union Pacific Railroad 
Company. It presents briefly the latest statistics 
upon agriculture, stock raising and manufactures, 
and is an invaluable aid to Homeseekers and In- 
vestors. 

SENT FREE UPON REQUEST 

ADDRESS 

R. S. LEMON 

Land and Immigration Agent, Union Pacific Railroad 

1017-1019 Grand Avenue, Kansas City, Mo. 



